Forbes - Los Angeles Lakers are most valuable NBA franchise

[G35]

Well I figure the upkeep for an NBA team must be significantly cheaper than a MLB/NFL team.

Play indoors. 15 man roster. No grass stains.....

[CITYOFANGELSX3]

Was hoping the clippers would be last, meh.

[digcom99]

What I'm curious about is why Boston isn't higher. Most storied history of any franchise, just won a title recently and in a fairly large market, yet can't reach any higher than 8th?

i wouldnt say the celts are the most storied franchise in the league anymore. the 20 year drought they had from the late 80s until recently really hurt them. although they have 2 more titles than the lakers, l.a. owns most of the other franchise records now. the lakers have really never had any sustained years of futility. theyve missed the playoffs in only 5 years of their history and played in nearly 50% of the all nba finals (30 out of 61......that is a staggering statistic). i would say both teams are in a virtual tie for most storied title and if the lakers catch or pass boston for most titles, they take sole possession. i believe thats why espn (which is very pro-boston) even rated the lakers number one in a recent article about the all-time nba franchises.

[JellosJigglin]

I agree with Mr. Forbes. He must be a smart guy.

[BubbaTee]

Was hoping the clippers would be last, meh.

That's pretty much impossible. They're in LA too.

[mup]

Lebron has been here 6 years and he's a hometown guy, yet he hasn't been able to turn the Cavs into a big deal around here. He's never going to be number one in the city that invented football (well Massillon and Canton did 40 miles from here). It doesn't matter how many games the Cavs win and the Browns lose, the Cavs will always be second fiddle to them. Lebron realizes that and it could be a motivation for him to leave to a city like New York where he'd be number one instantly. If he favors staying with his family and friends he will stay in Cleveland, if he favors stroking his ego and living the party life, he'll go to NYC. Only Lebron knows what he'll do.

You think the Knicks would all of a sudden be more popular than the Yankees? The Giants? Broadway? The Opera? No way.

The funny thing about New York is that there are more people there that couldn't care less about sports and have never heard of the Knicks than care about them. If the Knicks left, it would not affect the NYC economy in the slightest. The Knicks are just 1 of the million things to do there and the majority of New Yorkers know less about the Knicks than you know about the Cleveland Symphony.

If you are in downtown Cleveland and the Cavs are playing, you know it because the whole city is revolving around it and every local business is depending on it. You can be in Manhattan, standing two blocks away from the Garden and not even have any idea that there is a game going on. Trust me, I lived there. If being the "#1" draw in a city is a concern, NY would be the last destination.

[Yankee]

^^
Lebron would bring in the celebs. There will be major fan fare at the beginning. If lebron can win in NYC then he will definitely raise the profile of the knicks and the Knicks' coffer. The Knicks woudl definitely be the most valuable if lerbron was in NYC. There was a time in New York where the knicks pre game show didn't have enough spots for advertisement, but those days are long gone.

As for lebron making the Knicks # 1 in NYC, that would never happen.